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Having given no notice of the ban, it caused chaos for thousands of Arab-American families who already had family members en route to visit.

There were reports of Syrian families who have spent up to two years being vetted for a visa left stranded at the airport having sold all their possessions.

That Trump chose Holocaust Memorial Day to make the announcement was all the more upsetting for many Americans.

"Tears are running down the cheeks of the Statue of Liberty tonight as a grand tradition of America, welcoming immigrants, that has existed since America was founded has been stomped upon," Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer.

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Republican senator Seth Moulton, an Iraq War veteran, said: "President Trump is leading our country out of fear instead of facts.

"His executive orders banning refugees and immigrants from some Muslim majority countries to the United States plays right into the hands of our enemies.

"ISIS has already used his statements to help recruit new suicide bombers, and you can bet Trump’s policies will help inspire attacks against Americans both at home and abroad.

"His policies literally put our troops’ live at risk - I’ve heard this loud and clear when I have visited them overseas."

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"They also prove he has zero understanding of our country’s values and no intention of defending out constitution.

"We are a nation of immigrants, and America is stronger when we welcome the refugees of our enemies.

"These policies do no not put America first.

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Malala Yousafzai, the youngest ever recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, said in a statement: "I am heartbroken that today President Trump is closing the door on children, mothers and father fleeing violence and war."

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"I am heartbroken that America is turning its back on a proud history of welcoming refugees and immigrants - the people who helped build your country, ready to work in exchange for a fair chance at a new life.

"I am heartbroken that Syrian refugee children, who have suffered through six years of war by no fault of their own, are singled out for discrimination."

Civil rights groups have condemned the order as harmful and discriminatory.

"Extreme vetting is just a euphemism for discriminating against Muslims," American Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Anthony Romero said in a statement.

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"Identifying specific countries with Muslim majorities and carving out exceptions for minority religions flies in the face of the constitutional principle that bans the government from either favoring or discriminating against particular religions," Romero said.

Separately, Trump said that Syrian Christians will be given priority when it comes to applying for refugee status, a policy that would likely be challenged on similar grounds.

"If you were a Muslim you could come in, but if you were a Christian, it was almost impossible and the reason that was so unfair, everybody was persecuted in all fairness, but they were chopping off the heads of everybody but more so the Christians," Trump said in an excerpt of an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network, discussing the Syrian refugees.

Statistics provided by the Pew Research Center last October do not support Trump's argument.

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Pew research found that 38,901 Muslim refugees entered the United States in fiscal year 2016 from all countries, almost the same number, 37,521, as Christian refugees.

Stephen Legomsky, a former Chief Counsel at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Obama administration, said prioritising Christians could be unconstitutional.

"If they are thinking about an exception for Christians, in almost any other legal context discriminating in favor of one religion and against another religion could violate the constitution," he said.

But Peter Spiro, a professor at Temple University Beasley School of Law, said Trump’s move would likely be constitutional because the president and Congress are allowed considerable deference when it comes to asylum decisions.

"It’s a completely plausible prioritisation, to the extent this group is actually being persecuted," Spiro said.

The order temporarily suspends the United States' main refugee programme which helped around 85,000 people displaced by war, political oppression, hunger and religious prejudice last year.

It is expected to affect two programmes U.S. lawmakers created a few years after the 2003 invasion of Iraq to help the tens of thousands of Iraqis who risked their lives helping Americans.

Trump says the order is necessary to prevent Islamist militants from coming to the United States posing as refugees, but refugee advocacy groups say the lengthy screening of applicants by multiple U.S. agencies makes this fear unfounded.